Never Have I Ever
by HufflepuffQuiditchCaptain
Summary: {One-Shot} Riven didn't expect much from the party at the Winx's dorm. He figured bringing alcohol would liven things up, and boy did it. Before the drinking game ensues, no one expected a deep dark secret to be revealed. And no one ever expected who it came from. (Only tagged Riven to avoid spoilers! I don't own Winx Club or any of its characters.)


Riven grinned slyly, revving up his hover bike as he and the other boys from his squadron prepared to go to Alfea. None of them knew, but he had a stash of alcohol lying in his, and everyone else's, travel compartments. The girls planned to just have a small party, but Riven knew what it needed.

The drive there went like normal, the chill in the wind biting at their exposed skin. The magenta haired specialist let out a whoop of excitement, ready to see where the night, and alcohol, would take them.

Once at Alfea, the boys were greeted by the girls waiting at the entrance.

"So where is everyone?" Brandon asked, taking his helmet off and dismounting his bike.

"There's a holiday on a bunch of home planets, so Faragonda let everyone out of Friday classes," Stella explained as the rest of the specialists dismounted and removed their own helmets.

"So pretty much everyone is gone," Musa called, grinning as she approached where Riven leaned against his bike. Riven returned her grin, ready for the night to begin already.

"Let's get inside! I already have some snacks ready!" Flora called, letting Helia wrap his arm around her waist as she turned. She and most of the others followed her inside, the only two stragglers being Riven and Musa.

"So you brought some?" she asked nudging Riven in the ribs gently.

Laughing, Riven turned and opened his travel compartment, revealing three bottles of assorted alcohol. "I brought a lot more, too. The others didn't realize they were helping me transport it all."

Musa gave a snort that Riven found quite cute. "And you brought my favorite?" she asked eagerly, peaking inside.

"Of course," he assured, pulling out a bottle of golden, glittery liquid. "Though I think Stella might fight you for this one."

Musa laughed, placing her hand over Riven's hand that was holding the bottle. "Then I think we keep this for later. A more . . . private affair."

Grinning, Riven narrowed his eyes playfully at his girlfriend. "I like the sounds of that."

Musa helped him carry the alcohol inside. In total there were eight bottles, each of varying size, alcohol, and color. Opening the door, Musa shouted, "And _now_ it's a party!"

The room filled with cheers from the guys. "Man I knew I saw you messing with me bike!" Sky called, grinning as he took in the sight of the bottles.

Riven looked over to Nabu, who had arrived before them. "I managed to grab a bottle of Troll Broth for us, Nabu. Was a bitch to find." He handed off a tall, dark green bottle to Nabu, who smiled, his eyes big. Looking to Brandon and Sky, Riven said, "For you two: Erakylon's finest whiskey." He passed them a rounded bottle filled with brown liquid. He continued handing out the alcohol, proud of himself that he'd managed to obtain everyone's favorites.

"So what does everyone want to do now?" Bloom asked, relaxing back with a glass of some kind of earthling alcohol Riven had gotten for her. Personally, he thought the clear liquid was for babies, but he wasn't going to say that out loud.

"I say we play Never Have I Ever!" Stella called from where she was at the table, fixing herself a cup of Drinkable Sunlight.

"Yeah, that sounds fun!" Tecna agreed, handing a bottle of Electric Spirit off to Timmy.

"Let's make it interesting, though," Riven interrupted, sitting forward and clutching his cup of Troll Broth. The dark green liquid looked like syrup, but Riven liked how the thickness coated his throat as it went down. "If only one person has done something, they take a shot."

"Of what they're drinking?" Flora asked from where she sat on the couch, curled up next to Helia. On the table in front of them was an oddly shaped bottle that contained silvery liquid. Helia already had a glass in hand and Flora held an empty cup.

Riven shook his head. "Nah, of this stuff," he said, holding up a square, purple bottle. The label read _Wizard's Risk_.

Nabu whistled lowly in surprise. "You got a bottle of _that_? You do know that drinking more than two glasses of that will put you pretty much in a comma, right?"

Riven grinned. "That's right."

Twenty minutes later, the group had moved the furniture so that they were sitting in a circle facing inward. A table at the center held the bottles of alcohol and an empty bottle.

"So the rules are," Riven began, "one of us spins the bottle. Whoever it lands on says 'Never have I ever' and continues with, obviously, something they've never done. If you have done it, you take a drink. If you're the only person who has done it, you take a shot. The person who says the phrase then spins the bottle and the cycle continues. Understand?"

Everyone nodded. "Alright, I'll spin first." Riven spun the bottle, a gleam in his eye. "Oh, and if it's something personal, you have to explain."

The empty bottle stopped spinning on Sky.

Thinking for a moment, the blonde man grinned. "Never have I ever dyed my hair."

Riven, Musa, Stella, and Tecna each took a big gulp from their respective cups.

"Weak question," Riven called, rolling his eyes as Sky spun the bottle.

It stopped on Stella.

"Never have I ever . . . gotten tired of shopping?" Her phrase came out as a question, and everyone else took a deep drink. Stella huffed, not really sure if she went in the right direction, and spun the bottle.

Several rounds passed, everyone laughing and poking fun at each other. Brandon and Sky were trying to target Riven by saying things they only assumed he had done, but much to everyone's surprise, typically at least one other person had so far.

Someone went for a dirty shot and said, "Never have I ever lived on Earth for longer than five years." This, much to everyone's amusement, meant that Bloom had to take a shot of _Wizard's Risk._

Riven doubted she could hold it down, but she knocked it back and chased it with orange juice. It made her face turn a bit green, and she began gulping down water, but Riven was still slightly impressed. He'd never admit that, though.

Later, Timmy spun the bottle, and it landed on Brandon.

He grinned lazily at Riven. "Never have I ever been chased out of somewhere."

Riven sighed, glancing around. Everyone knew he'd been chased out of a bar in Magix recently. But, much to Riven's dismay, it looked as though no one else had been through the same thing.

Reaching for the purple bottle, Riven, and almost everyone else, was surprised when a tanned hand stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

"Flora?" he asked, surprised and reeling back a little.

She nodded, taking a deep pull of the drink she and Helia were sharing. Moonflower Extract, brewed in the deep caves of Linphea.

Riven took a gulp of his own drink, but all eyes were expectantly still on Flora, whose eyes were downcast.

"Well explain!" Tecna called, giggling as she tossed a small pillow at Flora. It sailed way overhead of her target. "What did you do? Tell a flower shop owner that her daisies weren't happy?"

Though Flora cracked a grin, she continued to stare into her cup.

"I, uh, I'm not from the Mainland on Linphea," she began quietly. Helia leaned forward, wrapping an arm around her. "I'm originally from a small island country off the southeastern coast. The people there were kind, but if there was one thing that they hated, it was magic. They considered it witchcraft, calling it a disease that will only taint the mind with greed and lust. People would denounce and disown their own family if they even showed a hint of magical ability."

She paused, taking another sip of her drink.

"When I was born, my parents knew I would develop magical abilities. They said when they brought me home from the doctor, the roses in the front garden sprang to life and became a more vibrant pink. I grew up very close to home for the first few years of my life. They let me explore the forest with them at night to help develop and grow my powers, and play with the neighborhood kids at the nearby school, but that wasn't enough for me."

Everyone sat with attention, enthralled and curious. Flora had never mentioned this before, at least not to Riven's knowledge.

"When I was six, I snuck outside in the afternoon one weekend. My mother was away on a research expedition and due back any second, and my father was trying to cook lunch. He left me alone in the living room, and I saw my chance." She leaned into Helia's side and Riven wrapped his own arm around Musa as a reflex.

"I followed the path into town. Not many people knew who I was, so a lot of the adults were cautious of me. I saw some friends, and I waved to them. Then, I saw a cart full of flowers. A lady was selling them in the town square. I approached her and asked if I could have one for my mom, and she smiled. She asked which one I wanted, and I reached up and plucked an exotic, bright orange flower. I just knew my mother would love it."

Flora sighed, setting her cup on the table and leaning back, folding her legs underneath her. "The flower whispered its name to me. I grinned at the lady and said, 'I want this one! The tiger blossom!' The woman smiled and asked if my mother taught me the name. I told her truth. That the flower had whispered it to me."

There was a sharp intake of breath as everyone predicted what happened next. Riven imagined a tiny Flora, brown hair in braids and wearing a pair of pink overalls. He could picture the happiness and excitement in her eyes, and knowing it was about to be crushed made Riven's stomach churn.

"Oh, gods, Flora, what happened?" Aisha asked, tears threatening to overflow. Everyone's emotions seemed amplified by the liquor, and Riven knew Musa was due to crumple to tears any minute.

Flora smiled sadly. "She ripped the flower from my hand and started screaming that I was an evil witch. She yelled at someone to get the police, and I just stood there confused. My mother had called me a fairy with a gift. Why did she think I was an evil witch?"

"I'll fight her!" Musa drunkenly declared, causing some of the others to laugh a little, including Flora. Riven pulled his girlfriend in tighter, rubbing her back with one hand to try to calm her down.

"Thank you, but that's not necessary," Flora continued. "The kids I thought were my friends started throwing rocks and things at me, and the adults weren't better. They yelled and screamed until I ran away. My parents found me running up the path to our house with a few people chasing after me. My father managed to get them to leave, but I don't remember how. That night, we packed up everything and got on a ferry in a nearby city and went to the Mainland, where we moved to the western side, where the castle is." She glanced up at everyone. "And that's where I've been chased out of," she finished weakly, giving a tiny shrug.

Musa stood, shrugging off Riven's arm. She stepped carefully to Flora and hugged her. Soon, the other girls were also hugging Flora.

"Aw, we love you, Flora!" Stella cried, wiping a tear away as she pulled away.

"I know!" the nature fairy assured, wiping away tears of her own.

"Let's fix a special drink! We'll name it after you and everything!" the blonde fairy said, gathering all of the bottles and heading towards the kitchen. "C'mon girls!"

The Winx girls followed Stella, each cheering.

"For some reason, I don't think Moonflower Extract and Eraklyon whiskey will go well together," Helia joked, sipping on a glass of water. He stood, ready to follow the girls to the kitchen.

The boys chuckled a bit, but they still couldn't get Flora's story out of their heads.

 _It explains so much,_ Riven thought. _Her confidence issues, her hesitancy. Why she's so nice to everyone she comes across. Why she's so protective of her younger sister. Being chased out of your own home is a heavy burden to handle._

He would know.

His respect for Flora grew, and he knew everyone else's had as well. He felt pride swell in his chest as he followed everyone else to the kitchen. He was proud to know her, proud to be her friend.


End file.
